


so don't you call my name, I will take you down

by acousticirwin



Category: 5 Seconds of Summer (Band)
Genre: M/M, and ive gotten great feedback on it, anyways this is a cute smol fic, boys are being stupid about their feelings, boys love boys, i loved this prompt a lot and it was great, i put a long rant in this about how waiters shouldn't be touched inappropriately, it involves a bit of ??? on ashton's side, this is 9k and I'm dead, waiter!au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-17
Updated: 2015-07-17
Packaged: 2018-04-09 19:05:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,206
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4360778
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/acousticirwin/pseuds/acousticirwin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Working in a restaurant that’s a coffee shop at the same time certainly comes with interesting experiences, and interesting people, Ashton supposes.</p><p>He just hadn’t expected that his co-worker would be one of those interesting experiences.</p><p>Or the one where Mashton both work in a restaurant/coffee shop, Luke apparently never has class and Calum wants a puppy. Shenanigans ensue.</p>
            </blockquote>





	so don't you call my name, I will take you down

**Author's Note:**

  * For [aliciaxadrienne](https://archiveofourown.org/users/aliciaxadrienne/gifts).



> Soooooooo!!! This fic was written in less than a month, because I'm a horrible person and a horrible procrastinator, too. I think it turned out alright though. 
> 
> Sorry if certain parts seem a bit rushed, I was out of time and couldn't make it any longer than this. 
> 
> Huge thanks to Lee, my beta-reader, who luckily was awake when I sent her my finished work at 1am last night. She edited it beautifully, and I'm sure without her constant support this fic wouldn't be what it is. It probably wouldn't even exist! 
> 
> That's all I have to say. Enjoy! 
> 
> PS: If you'd like to, you can comment your favourite line and why you like it so much! I'd be very happy to read about that （*＾-＾*）

The air outside is humid and the streets are empty. Even though it's only early in the evening, nobody seems to be outside. Everybody had already left work to go home, sit in the shade, and enjoy a cool drink by the poolside. Occasionally, a person would walk by the restaurant, hurrying to get out of the sun and into the comfort of their own home.

 

Sighing, Ashton turns away from the window and looks at the table he'd previously been cleaning, before the world outside had seemed much more interesting than beer stains on a tablecloth. He's just reaching out for the old rag to continue cleaning when somebody snatches it away from the table.

 

Looking up, he's met by Luke's face, eyes crinkling as he holds the rag away from Ashton. "Give it back," Ashton complains and reaches for the old rag, but Luke just holds it up high so Ashton can't reach it. "Oh come on! You know I can't reach that! Why are you doing this?" He sighs, trying (and failing) to pull Luke's arm down.

 

"Because I love to see that pissed off look on your face, and I can't wait until you actually jump up to try to reach this cloth," Luke answers, grinning mischievously.

 

“I’m not gonna do that, Luke,” Ashton answers, rolling his eyes. He wouldn’t stoop that low. He wouldn’t. “Ugh, fuck you. What are you doing here anyways? Shouldn’t you be in class?”

 

“Nah, everything got cancelled. It’s too hot, apparently,” Luke says, sitting down on a bar stool. He throws the rag back at Ashton, who catches it easily.

 

“Oh really,” Ashton replies sarcastically. “I hadn’t noticed.” He walks behind the counter, throwing the rag into the sink. The table had been clean anyways.  “It’s not like people are practically dying outside.”

 

“It’s too hot though, I have to agree with my professor,” Luke says, then grabs a water bottle from Ashton’s side of the counter and starts drinking from it. It’s either Ashton’s or his co-worker’s, but with how Luke seemed to be enjoying the cold beverage, Ashton guessed it was his. His co-worker would leave his drinks outside for days, sometimes even weeks.

 

“That’s my water,” Ashton says, pointing to the water bottle in Luke’s hands.

 

Finishing the drink, Luke answers “I know. Now it’s mine.” Putting the bottle back in its place, he leans back and tries to get some cool air into his face by waving his hand frantically.

 

“I spat in that,” Ashton smirks, turning around to get himself a new drink from the fridge.

 

“Good. Me, too,” Luke responded, grinning in Ashton’s face when he turned back around, now with a new, fresh bottle of water in his hands.

 

“You’re disgusting,” Ashton says, but there’s no meaning behind it. Luke just sticks out his tongue and pulls a funny face.

 

He’s known Luke for a while now, having met each other back in high school. It was a pure coincidence that they got accepted at the same college, and now they hang out more often than not, because it’s not like there’s anything else to do anyways. Somehow, their schedules hadn’t mixed too much, which had annoyed them at the beginning, but it had proven to be for the best. Now, with Ashton having mostly morning classes, he didn’t have to worry about missing shifts at work, and with Luke going to his classes in the early evening, he could come and visit Ashton during work.

 

If he could have, he would’ve lived in a flat with Luke, but Luke’s parents had paid for a dorm on campus for him, and Ashton’s… well. Didn’t. So, the two boys had just agreed on frequently visiting each other, with Luke coming to the restaurant in-between classes, and on weekends they’d sometimes meet up at Ashton’s place. Occasionally, they’d go on a friend-date together, if one of them could spare the money; and from time to time Luke even slept over at Ashton’s flat. It was nice, their friendship, and Ashton wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world.

 

He knows that he can always count on Luke, and that he could tell the other boy anything, and wouldn’t have to be afraid of judgement. Of course, that works both ways, and Luke could literally pour his heart out to Ashton and he would just make Luke a cup of coffee and listen to Luke ramble on for hours about whatever was bothering him.

 

Sadly, their friendship comes with disadvantages as well, such as Luke joking about spitting into Ashton’s water (it’s not really a disadvantage, to be honest. Ashton loves these moments between them).

 

“Hey, do you mind if I sit down somewhere and work on some of my coursework?” Luke asks and points to one of the empty tables in the room.

 

“No of course not, why do you keep asking this?” Ashton answers, smiling. Luke just shrugs and walks over to one of the tables. “I guess I’m just polite.”

 

Ashton is about to go into a full-on rant about how Luke is definitely not polite, when a customer enters the shop. An actual customer, on a day like this. While Ashton prepares the requested coffee, he can feel the young woman’s gaze on him, and has to bite back a grin. It’s obvious that she thinks he’s attractive. When he gives her the coffee, she gives him a 5$ note.

 

“Keep the change,” she says, taking her coffee. She winks at him, and before Ashton can say anything about how that really wasn’t necessary, she turns around and walks out of the restaurant. Oh well, maybe she’ll come back and get more drinks. He’s always up for customers who give him tips, even if it’s just for a simple coffee.

 

Looking at Luke, he sees the boy holding his hand in front of his mouth, obviously trying hard to stop himself from laughing out loud.

 

“Oh, shut up,” Ashton tells him. He’s told Luke enough about encounters like this with customers for him to be familiar with it. However, that doesn’t mean Luke doesn’t make fun of him for it.

 

“I didn’t even say anything!” Luke complains, but there’s a mischievous sparkle in his eyes, and Ashton knows what he’s about.

 

Looking at his watch, he sees that he still has an hour left before he has to open up the restaurant part of the business. His boss had decided that it wouldn’t make sense for them to have it open the whole day, so every evening Ashton had to unlock the door to a separate room, bigger than the one where the café takes place. Of course, the job isn’t done with just unlocking the door, he has to set all the tables and make sure everything is clean and ready to be used, too (or at least as clean as it gets, because there were some suspicious stains on various spots in the restaurant that just wouldn’t go away, no matter how hard he tried). And that’s usually around the time when the first customers start pouring in, and then Ashton’s real job as a waiter begins. Evenings are always rough, and every night Ashton falls into bed exhausted to a point where he can’t even set his alarm for the next day, because at that point, it’s just too much work.

 

Sitting down on a chair behind the counter, Ashton fishes out his phone from his pocket. Now that there weren’t any customers there, maybe he could play some of the games on his phone. Luke had introduced him to ‘Crossy Road’ a while ago, and Ashton couldn’t seem to stop playing the stupid game.

 

Occasionally, a customer would come in and want something to drink, but other than that, Ashton has nothing to do, and he can feel himself getting bored. It’s better like this though, he thinks to himself. It’s way better than later, where he won’t even have a little moment to catch his breath.

 

“Aren’t you meant to have a co-worker or something?” Luke asks a while later, when it looks like he’s already done a good bit of his work.

 

Rolling his eyes, Ashton replies “Ugh, that bastard is never here. I suppose he doesn’t think it’s necessary to be at work when our boss isn’t there to watch over us. He left a couple of hours ago.”

 

Luke raises his eyebrows. “So he’s not here?”

 

“No, I think he decided it was too hot to work.” Which is true, but Ashton has to work in this heat, too, so everybody else should suffer with him.

 

He looks at his watch again and decides it’s time to start opening the restaurant. “Right, Luke. Time to go home,” he says, standing up and stretching. Luke packs all of his things into his bag, and gets up as well.

 

“Right, I’ll be on my way then,” Luke announces, heading towards the door. “See you later, Ash!”

 

Waving him goodbye, Ashton watches as Luke leaves through the door and heads out into the street. Sighing, he pulls out the key from a drawer and unlocks the door that separates the two rooms. It’s time to start working.

 

* * *

 

The next day, Ashton’s called into the office by his boss, and while he makes his way to the back, he asks himself what he’d done wrong to be called to the office. Usually, employees only get called to the office when they’re about to be fired or get a raise, and if Ashton’s being honest, it couldn’t be the latter.

 

Knocking at the door and entering the room after a “Come in” from his boss, he sees that he’s not the only one in the room. Michael, his co-worker, another waiter, is standing next to his boss’ desk, looking at him expectantly. Ashton hasn’t seen Michael for a couple days, because Michael had been sick, apparently. He’s changed his hair colour now, from blue to red, and honestly, Ashton loves it. Michael’s constant change of hair colour has almost become the cause for a bet between the employees, and they’ve come to the point where they are literally putting in money and try to coax out tips from Michael about his new hair colour. It’s fun, especially the moment where at some point during each month, Michael will come in with a different hair colour than the day before, and just hearing the excited cheers or loud groans of his co-workers are enough motivation for Ashton to come back to work the next day.

 

Closing the door behind him, Ashton asks “What’s up? Why was I called into the office?” Looking over to his boss, he sees her sitting at the table, hands folded neatly above it. She’s pretty young, only in her 30s, and if Ashton was older and into women, he’d dig her. But, he’s not, and she’s married.

 

He walks over so he’s standing directly next to Michael, and out of the corner of his eyes he can see Michael looking at him, but he chooses to ignore it. They’ve never stood this close together, so now is the first time Ashton notices that Michael is actually taller than him. It’s not by an unbearable amount, but still. Ashton would have to look up a bit to look him in the eyes.

 

“I called you and Michael in here to tell you that you both can work extra shifts, because we’re in need of waiters on Thursday and Friday evenings. Of course you’ll be paid, and I can give you your new schedules as soon as you say yes. Any questions?”

 

“Hold on, does that mean me and Michael will work together?” Ashton asks, because yes, sometimes he can be slow. His boss nods. “Alright, that’s fine with me. I can work late, that’ll work with my classes.” Nodding again, his boss sets her gaze upon Michael.

”Yeah sure, I can do that,” Michael says nonchalantly, but Ashton can see that he’s pretty happy about the change.

 

“Alright, these are your new schedules,” their boss says, handing each of them a paper sheet, “and the changes will start as of next week. Thanks for taking the shifts, you can go back to work now.”

 

Walking back to the front of the store and tucking his new schedule away in his pocket, Ashton can’t help but wonder if those extra shifts might bring Michael and him closer together. Honestly, Michael seems like a great guy, and Ashton knows that  they share some interests. They even have a similar taste in music, from what he’s seen on Michael’s countless band shirts that he wore to work at one point.

 

Who knows. Maybe they will talk at some point, and discover that they’re long-lost best friends. Or something.

 

* * *

 

It’s a few days later, early in the afternoon (which means it’s too early for Luke to show up, and Ashton’s bored), and Ashton’s just heated up some Mac ‘n’ Cheese. He’s eating it behind the counter, so he won’t miss when a customer comes in, and really, things could be worse.

 

It’s then that a customer comes in, and Ashton groans internally. The guy is pretty young, around Ashton’s age, and he’s there quite often. Apparently him and Michael are pretty close, if not best friends. Whenever the guy’s in the shop, him and Michael talk pretty loudly, and it’s not that Ashton doesn’t grant them their friendship, but. Maybe they could turn the volume down a bit sometimes, because he’d rather not hear about the shenanigans Michael’s been up to lately. Michael’s currently on his break, which means he’s probably sleeping somewhere in the back, so it’s just Ashton and Michael’s friend.

 

“Hey Ashton!” The guy waves at him, and Ashton timidly smiles and waves back. “Do you know where Michael is?”

 

Pointing to the door that leads to the back of the shop, Ashton replies “He’s on his break right now. Do you want me to get him out for you?”

 

“Nah, it’s fine,” Michael’s friend says, his hand doing a dismissive gesture. “I’ll just wait until he’s back then.” Instead of sitting down somewhere, like a normal person would, he just keeps standing in front of the counter. Ashton waits a few seconds for him to say something, but the guy stays silent.

 

So, Ashton continues eating his food. Just a few seconds after he’d lifted the fork to his mouth, Michael’s friend gasps. “Oh my god, is that Mac ‘n’ Cheese?” Ashton nods. “Can I have some? Please, I’m so hungry, I’m dying!”

 

Aah okay, what? They’re not friends. Ashton doesn’t even know the guy. Looking at the other guy though, and the way his eyes just seem to get bigger and bigger as his lower lip juts out, he knows that he’s already lost the fight. He’s always been a sucker for puppy eyes, they didn’t even need to come from a dog. Really, anyone with mediocre puppy eyes skills can make Ashton do things he’d otherwise never do. Like sharing his food, for example.

 

Sighing, he takes out a fork from the drawer, and puts the huge bowl up on the counter. Offering the fork to Michael’s friend, he says “It would’ve been too much for me anyways. Dig in!”

Michael’s friend gladly accepts the fork, and starts eating. For a while, they just eat in silence, Ashton’s reading a book for class, and Michael’s friend seems to be texting someone.

”Hey man,” Michael’s friend says, and Ashton looks up questioningly.

 

“Yeah?”

 

Michael’s friend puts his phone on the counter between them, and says “Wanna exchange numbers? You seem like a cool dude, AND you gave me food, so.” A laugh escapes Ashton’s mouth, wondering why this guy is so overly friendly. He’s like a small child, in that way.

 

“Sure,” Ashton replies, telling the other guy his number.

 

Grinning, Michael’s friend says “Great! Hang on, I’ll send you a text,” And sure enough, Ashton’s phone vibrates in his pocket just a few seconds later. “It’s a dog emoji!”

“Alright, cool!” Ashton grins back. Maybe he could actually be friends with the guy. He’s friendly, at least. Their conversation seems to have found its end at that point, and both of them continue eating.

 

A few minutes later, when the bowl is almost empty, a disgruntled Michael emerges from the back, rubbing his eyes and yawning. So he had been taking a nap after all.

 

“Really, Cal?” Michael says, shoving his phone into his friend’s face. “That’s twenty puppy pictures in the last hour. I get it, you want a dog!” He waves his arms around. “Stop sending me dog pics, I GET IT.” Michael’s friend, Calum, only grins and starts laughing. “God damn Calum, stop laughing in my face! I’m serious!” He drags Calum over to a table in the corner of the room, Calum taking the bowl of food with him, and well. Ashton hadn’t really been hungry anymore, anyways. Putting the fork away, he opens his book up again, finds the paragraph he’d stopped at, and continues reading.

 

Well, he tries to read, because Michael and Calum seem to be having a pretty intense conversation at their table. Ashton tries not to eavesdrop, but really, with the volume they’re talking at, even people outside could easily make out what they’re saying. They’re still talking about dogs and puppies, and apparently, Calum’s been pestering Michael for months now. Apparently, the two of them live together, and Calum’s just waiting for Michael’s approval to get a dog.

 

Michael looks over to Ashton, and Ashton hastily looks down, cheeks blushing a bright red at the embarrassment of being caught staring. Michael and Calum tone their volume down, and it’s obvious they’re doing it so Ashton can’t hear what they’re saying. It’s not working, he can still hear them clearly. He won’t listen to it anymore, though, because he’s not that awful.

 

Sighing, Ashton concentrates on his book again.

 

* * *

  

It’s the first day of Ashton’s new schedule, and it’s worse than he’d expected. Being on his feet until 1 in the morning really takes a toll. Also, the customers certainly don’t get nicer as the evening passes by.

 

“Jesus Christ Almighty, that was horrible,” he announced, as soon as the last customer had left the restaurant. Leaning against the wall, he rubs his face with his hands and just stays like that for a few seconds.

 

“It really was,” Michael says from the other side of the room, and Ashton leaves the comfort of his own hands to look over at Michael instead, who has sat himself down on a chair. “Well, let’s get this shit cleaned up a bit, and then we can go home.”

 

Nodding in agreement, Ashton quickly starts stacking up the chairs and putting them in their places while Michael closes the windows and pulls the shutters down. They’re almost done when the light suddenly goes out and both boys immediately stand still. Ashton throws a worried glance at Michael, who looks right back at him.

 

“Michael, why did the lights go out?” Ashton asks, but it doesn’t come out like a question at all.

 

Walking over to the door, Michael says” Hold on I-“ but immediately stops speaking when he turns the knob and the door doesn’t open. He tries again, but to no avail. “Why the fuck is the door locked?!” he shouts at Ashton, who quickly runs over to him. “Did you lock it?”

 

Rolling his eyes, Ashton replies “Why in seven hells would I do that?!” He shoves Michael away and tries opening the door himself, but sure enough, the door is locked. “One of the other employees must’ve locked it while we were busy, they probably didn’t hear anything from the room so they assumed everyone had already left. I’m sure they’ve left by now, so there’s no use in shouting.”

 

“Hang on, you’ve got keys for the doors, don’t you?” Michael asks, suddenly looking hopeful.

 

“I do, but I don’t have them with me!”

 

“Oh my god, why don’t you have your keys with you?” Michael exclaims loudly, waving his arms around.

 

“I do!” Ashton shouts back, just as loud. “But they’re in the drawer under the counter, since I didn’t plan on getting stuck in here tonight!” Rubbing his face in his hands, he slides down the door and leans against it when he’s sitting down. “Why the fuck would I have them on my body all the time?! I usually don’t need them, and if I end up having to close up, I just take them out again!” He’s getting really annoyed with Michael now, because it’s not his fault that they got locked up. It’s not, and he knows it. “So don’t you dare blame me for this,” he says, calmer than before, but with fury still behind it.

 

“Ugh, this sucks,” Michael replies, sliding down the door next to Ashton.

”You tell me,” Ashton answers, looking over to Michael, who is looking out into the room. “I have a dog at home, and I’m guessing she’s eating my couch right now.” He laughs, but it probably comes out really sad.

 

“You have a dog? What’s her name?” Michael asks, clearly surprised. He’s looking at Ashton now, eyebrows raised. “I didn’t think you’d be a dog type of person.”

 

Ashton shrugs. “Me neither, and her name is Bubbles. I’m technically not allowed to have her, and I don’t have the money for it, either.” Sighing, he continues “It’s only temporary, though, so I hope my landlord won’t pay me a visit in that time.”

 

“Why did you get the dog in the first place, then?” Michael asks, sounding genuinely interested.

 

“It’s uh…. it’s complicated,” Ashton says, hoping Michael would just leave it at that. He didn’t really want to explain the whole situation to him.

 

“No, please tell me. We’ve got a whole night to kill,” Michael says instead, and, well. Of course.

 

Sighing, Ashton decides to just go for it. “Alright, well. So, I think you’ve figured out by now that I live on my own, right?” Michael nods, but doesn’t interrupt. “Well, see, I didn’t sign up for this. The dog is actually my friend’s dog, and he gave the dog to me for what was originally meant to be only a week or something, but it’s been a month, and I just. Ugh,” Ashton says, putting air quotes around ‘only a week’.

 

“Well, why hasn’t your friend returned?” Michael asks.

 

Sighing, Ashton explains “He went off to see his friend, who lives a couple of hours away. Said he wanted to start a musical duo with his friend, or something like that. And apparently he’s never coming back or whatever, because he sent me a text telling me that I didn’t need to take care of his dog anymore, and that I could just sell it or whatever,” Ashton tugs slightly on his hair. “But I’m not completely heartless, so I can’t just set the dog out on the streets, and if I want to sell her, I want to know that she’ll be in a good place, you know?” He looks over at Michael questioningly.

 

Ashton knows that he can’t keep the dog. He doesn’t have the time, nor the money. For fuck’s sake, he doesn’t even know how to take care of himself, so how would that work with an animal? He might forget to make himself food for a day or two, and that’s okay, but it wouldn’t work for an animal.

 

Michael nods. “Yeah, I mean I completely understand that. I wouldn’t do that, either,” he pauses. “You haven’t found someone for the dog then, I’m guessing?”

 

Shaking his head, Ashton answers “No, not really. I mean, after I put up an advert in the newspaper, a few people called, but they weren’t really… I just didn’t…”

 

“It didn’t feel right,” Michael finishes for him, and Ashton nods. “So what are you gonna do with it now?”

 

“I don’t know,” Ashton says, shrugging. “I’ll just keep her until I find a new owner, I suppose. One where I know that she’ll get well taken care of.”

 

Michael doesn’t reply anything, and for a while it’s quiet between the two of them, only their breaths audible in the otherwise silent room. Ashton has already dozed off by the time Michael raises his voice again.

 

“Why do you live alone?” he asks, and it’s so quiet that Ashton almost misses it. He blinks a few times and looks at Michael, who is already looking at him. “I mean, you’re young, why don’t you live with your parents, or at least a flatmate?” Michael hesitates, but continues. “I always see you and your friend together, the one who’s in the shop all the time. You two seem pretty close.”

 

Ashton smiles sadly. “You mean Luke, right?” Which, like. Of course Michael means Luke. Ashton doesn’t have any other friends who visit him during his working time. It’s just Luke. Michaels nod only confirms this. “Yeah, we’re best friends. We don’t live together, though, Luke lives in a dorm on campus.”

 

“Why don’t you?” Michael inquires further.

 

“My parents wouldn’t pay for that, and I barely even got them to pay for the shitty flat I live in now. They’re not very… let’s say supportive, of what I choose to do with my life, and how I’m living it.” And really, Ashton isn’t feeling up for this. He’d rather not tell Michael about this, when he doesn’t even know if the other guy likes him or not.

 

“Ah, I see,” Michael replies, and really? What kind of an answer is that? “What do they want you to do differently?”

Ashton chooses his words wisely, because if he voices this wrong, Michael would for sure get the wrong idea of his home situation. And it’s not like that. It’s not. “The thing is… we’re three kids at home, and I’m the oldest, so naturally my parents expect me to be the perfect child, you know? And they just want me to get good grades and do well, and I… I didn’t really do that in school? I just wasn’t feeling too well at the time, so I didn’t get the grades my parents wanted me to get,” He pauses, to see if Michael is still listening. He is. “Now that I’m in college, they kind of expect me to get better and better, and I… I’m just not sure if I can live up to their expectations.” Ashton takes a deep breath. “And it’s all just a little too much at the moment, and I have so much to do, and I can’t even pay my rent half the time, so I have to ask my parents to cover the rest for me, and they always sound so disappointed when I call to tell them, a-and I don’t want them to be disappointed with me. That’s why I got the job, by the way. I just really need the money.”

 

Michael is quiet now, and says nothing while Ashton regrets ever opening his mouth and telling him, because they’ve known each other for what – an hour now? Well, they’ve been working together for longer, but they didn’t really talk. It’s probably too early to be talking about family problems. Then again, is it ever?

 

“I… I – sorry but that’s kinda fucked up,” Michael says finally. “Sorry if I’m offending you or anything, but what the fuck?! What’s wrong with your parents?” Ashton looks at Michael, and the other boy seems angry. “Why won’t they allow you to just live together with your friend? I mean, what’s so bad about that?! I don’t get it,” He sighs exasperated. “And also, what the fuck is this about your grades?! It’s total crap, if you ask me. Of course, if you want to get good grades, then go and fucking do it. But if your only motivation is your parents pressuring you to do it, then that’s fucking bullshit,” Michael continues to rant on about how Ashton’s parents are apparently completely stupid, and that they must be out of their mind to pressure their son like that, but Ashton tunes out after a while and chooses to stare at Michael instead, and how his expressions change when he talks about something that upsets him, or excites him, or angers him. And really, he knows he shouldn’t openly stare like that, because at some point Michael’s bound to notice, but as the minutes go by Ashton can’t find it in himself to stop.

 

Eventually Ashton finds himself dozing off, and he can feel himself leaning his head against Michael’s shoulder, the other boy now talking about something that happened to him in High School once, but before he can do anything against it, his eyes close on their own account and he’s gone.

 

The next morning, they’re woken up by their boss trying to open up the door, them effectively blocking it with their bodies, and as they scramble to their feet, Ashton’s gaze might just linger a bit longer on Michael than needed.

 

* * *

  

Things stay the same for two weeks, and really, Ashton should’ve seen it coming, but in reality, he didn’t. He doesn’t exactly know what he’d expected from the night, but it definitely hadn’t been Michael just straight-up going back to where they’d been before, which was him basically ignoring Ashton, and making as minimal conversation as possible. Ashton’s not happy with it, because he’d at least hoped for them to develop a bit of a friendship between each other, but oh well. Things are how they are, he supposes.

 

He’s been watching Michael for a few minutes now, just calmly leaning against the wall next to the door that leads to the kitchen. The other boy looks as if he’s right in his element, juggling plates, talking to customers, and keeping a smile on his face at all times. Ashton’s just a little bit jealous. He’d never be able to do that.

 

Ashton gets disturbed from his thoughts when a customer calls him over to order. Walking over to the middle-aged man, Ashton can’t help but wonder why the man chose this restaurant to dine in, because the man sure doesn’t look like he normally eats in 3-star-restaurants. And the 3-star rating was on a good day. The man’s got an expensive looking suit, fancy pants and an even more valuable looking pair of sunglasses hanging around his neck. The look was completed by his black briefcase, leaning against the table the man chose to eat at.

 

“Hello, my name is Ashton and I’ll be your waiter today. How may I help you?”

 

Looking up from his menu, the man looks confused for a second, before he registers Ashton as a person. Grinning, he says “Oh, you’re my waiter?” Nodding slowly, Ashton wonders what the man is on about. “Well, if I’d known that you’d be my waiter, I would’ve worn something more appropriate.”

 

And okay, what? “W-Would you like to order now, Sir?” Instead of reacting to what the man said, Ashton simply chooses to ignore it.

 

“Sure, if you’re on the menu,” the man replies, now smirking. When Ashton doesn’t answer anything except for blinking his eyes multiple times, the man laughs and exclaims “Oh come on! Don’t be so serious! I’m just joking!”

 

Ashton doesn’t think the man is joking. Still, he continues as if nothing had happened. “What would you like to order?” he asks, now tapping his pen on his clipboard impatiently.

 

It’s nothing new that customers hit on him, both male and female. Working in a restaurant comes with certain side-effects, he supposes. Lack of sleep because of late-night shifts and the constant smell of food clinging to him and his clothes are only some of the effects his work had on him. So, a customer crushing on him (or what they presume is him, because they can’t possibly know him just from having small talk) isn’t a new thing for him. Most just blush a lot and (in case of long hair) twirl their hair in order to look sexy, but some are of the blunter type, and those are the ones Ashton likes to avoid at all costs.

 

People stumbling over their words and having their cheeks flush a nice pink isn’t something he’s bothered by, it’s kind of nice, actually. Because he knows he can be nice to them as well, since in nine out of ten times, the people will be too shy to actually do something about the crush on the waiter that they momentarily fell in love with. They’ll just smile all the time, steal some glances at him when he’s serving other tables, and maybe tip him a good amount of money. And that’s it. Later, they’ll gush over him to their friends, describing how attractive he looked and how sweet his voice sounded when he spoke or whatever. Those are the kind of people he favours.

 

However, there are other people, too. The kind of people who will openly gaff at him, mouths curling into a smirk, eyes roaming up and down his body. The kind of people who will make dirty remarks about his appearance, and try to flirt with him in front of the entire restaurant. Sometimes, they will get more affectionate, and start touching him, and that usually is the moment where Ashton wants to throw up his lunch over their table, or maybe spit into their drink. Because that is the moment when he freezes, and instead of complaining about it, he does nothing and just tries to leave the table as soon as possible. He just doesn’t react how he should, and it annoys him.

 

Because he should shout at the person, tell them that he doesn’t like what they’re doing, and that they should stop. That just because he’s right there in front of them doesn’t give them the right to touch him in places where he definitely doesn’t want to be touched. That they’re married, and that they should be ashamed of themselves, because what would their partner think of them if they knew about this. And finally, that they should please leave this restaurant, because of their inappropriate behaviour, and that they may never return.

 

But of course, Ashton doesn’t say those things.

 

It might have to do with the fact that after the first couple of times it happened, he went to his boss and told her about it, and she just laughed in his face. She said that he should have expected this when he applied for the job as a waiter, and that he’ll just have to deal with it.

 

Because, and she stroked his hands when he told her about the one man who had been the worst of them all and cried into her shoulder, if she could stop them from doing so, she would. But she can’t, and he’d have to live with it or get another job, because that’s the business he’s in now, and if he can’t adjust to working in a low-quality restaurant and the disadvantages that come with it, he should better leave now, while he’s still able to. And when Ashton told her that he couldn’t leave now, not with the situation he was in at the moment, she just smiled sadly at him and told him that she understood. She also told him that life wasn’t a game, and that things weren’t always going to be as perfect as they were made out to be in high school.

 

Because life wouldn’t just lay out a perfect life for him and he’d just need to pick it up and be done with it, and that he’d need to pick up piece by piece and try to build his own life, all by himself. And that even though some parts might not be good, and that he’d rather not include them, but that they’re needed for the finished piece. And while she wiped his tears away with her thumbs, she told him that later, when his life is done, he’d look at it and appreciate all the things in it, even the bad. And that’s why he needed to get through this, through awful people groping him, and grit his teeth, and keep quiet. Because at the end of the day, he wouldn’t feel disgusted with himself because he felt up a young lad, but the other person would think about it for hours, and some time, some day, deeply regret it.

 

And maybe, in another restaurant, another waiter wouldn’t just ignore the customer, and maybe yell at them, and shame them in front of everyone, and embarrass them, and make their face flush red because everyone would look at them. Maybe, another customer would know the person, maybe from work, and tell their boss about it the next day, how disgusting their worker is. And maybe the person would lose their job, and then fall into a hole of despair and sorrow.

 

But that waiter wouldn’t be him, because at this restaurant, it would cost him his job, and even though his boss is a tolerant person, she couldn’t just ignore him shouting in the restaurant.

 

So, he doesn’t yell at rude customers.

 

“I’d like a steak, medium-cooked, with some salad and a beer, if that’s doable,” the man says, still smirking.

 

Nodding, Ashton writes down the request and turns to leave, when the man stops him from doing so by holding his arm in place with his hand.

 

“What do you want?” Ripping his arm free, Ashton crosses his arms in front of his chest. He’s really annoyed now, and the man is starting to creep him out a bit.

 

“God, I just want to have a little fun. Is that too much to ask for?” The man replies, laughing.

 

Ashton just rolls his eyes and walks away to get the order to the cook. He doesn’t have the nerves for this right now.

 

Several minutes later, the food is prepared and Ashton carries it to the table, where the man is currently scrolling through his phone.

 

“Enjoy your meal,” he says with forced politeness, and immediately backs away when the man looks up and opens his mouth as if to say something. He supposes he’ll have to pay for it later, if the customer should decide to complain to his boss.

 

Ashton is currently bringing food to another table, plates stacked high on his underarms, when he sees that the man has finished eating, and is practically staring him down. Setting the plates down on the table, Ashton steals around a few glances, to see where Michael is, but, to his misfortune, the other boy is in the middle of writing down orders for a table with quite a few people, which means that he’s exceptionally busy and won’t be able to help Ashton.

 

Because that had been Ashton’s plan, to just get Michael to collect the money. He’d done this a few times with his other co-workers, but tonight it was just Michael and him and he’d never explained a situation like this to Michael before, and Ashton had no idea how the other guy would react, especially after that night, where they’d both been stuck in the restaurant. It might just have changed things for the better for them. Maybe it hadn’t. Maybe things were going to be the same for them. Maybe him opening up to Michael hadn’t changed anything between them.

 

Sighing, he walks over to the middle-aged man, trying not to look too pissed off (and probably failing. He’s never been too good at concealing his feelings and wearing a mask over his face).

 

“Would you like to pay now, Sir?” Ashton says, stopping in front of the table and looking at the man impatiently.

 

“Oh yes, I sure would like to,” the man replies, and Ashton practically slaps the bill onto his table.

 

“There you go,” he grins, although it’s false. The man gives him the correct amount of money (not even a tip, ugh) and Ashton is ready to say goodbye to the man and have him be on his way, when he feels the man sneak a hand around his waist. “Don’t touch me,” Ashton hisses, twisting around in the man’s grip, trying to get away, which turns out to be useless, because fuck, the man has some muscles in him. “What do you want?” He’s angry now, glaring at the man, still trying to get himself out of the embrace.

 

“How about you give me your number, eh?” the man answers, winking at him.

 

“Oh my god, no!” Ashton yells at him, pinching his nails into the man’s arm. “Just get the fuck out of here!”

 

“Hey!” A voice is heard, just a couple of feet away from where Ashton’s standing, and Ashton almost gets whiplash from how fast he turns his head around to face Michael. Apparently he’s looking that helpless, because Michael immediately stalks over, observing the situation quickly.

 

“Is there a problem?” He asks, glaring at the man.

 

“Oh no, I don’t –“

 

“Of course there is!” Ashton says, interrupting the man. “He’s been making sexual remarks all the while I’ve been serving him, and now that he’s already paid, he’s – what the actual fuck – not letting me go and legitimately gripping my hip right now, see!” He angrily points to his hip, where, of course, the man’s hand is still resting with a firm grip.

 

There is about a two- or three-second pause, and then Michael speaks up, now clearly in full-defence mode. “Alright dude,” he starts, wrapping his arm around Ashton’s shoulder protectively, “leave him the fuck alone. If you don’t let go of his hip right this instant, I’m afraid your face will become acquainted with my fist, and trust me, I won’t hesitate to kick you in the balls, too, if that’s not enough for your ugly fuckface,” he continues, having an actual stare-down with the man.

 

And sure enough, the man’s grip on Ashton’s hip slowly loosens, until the man lets his hand fall down. He’s still glaring at Michael, though, and Ashton’s afraid this will escalate into something he never meant it to be.

 

“Now get the fuck out of this restaurant, or do I have to drag you out by your shirt collar?” Michael says, letting go of Ashton and leaning his hands over the table instead, so he’s bent over the man slightly. “Nobody fucks with Ashton, alright?”

 

Clearly angered and embarrassed, the man gathers his things quickly, then stands up. “This will have consequences, trust me,” he snarls, walking towards the exit of the restaurant quickly. And with a final “Wait until your boss hears about this,” the man leaves.

 

A weird silence has settled in the restaurant, and for a few moments only Michael’s loud breaths are heard, but then the conversations pick up again, and it’s like the whole encounter never happened. Well, for anyone but for Ashton and Michael.

 

“I…,” Ashton starts, clearing his throat.

 

“Don’t mention it,” Michael interrupts him. “Just watch out next time, alright?” He doesn’t give Ashton a chance to reply, and quickly walks off into the kitchens, surely picking up new meals for the guests.

 

He leaves Ashton there, in the middle of the restaurant, wondering what had just happened.

 

* * *

 

Walking home that night, he can’t stop himself from going over the scene with the rude customer again and again in his head. It’s just. The way that Michael’s arm had wrapped around him, and the way he told the customer off, it just made him feel incredibly… safe. So, so safe. He’d rather not think about why that is (even though he knows exactly why, but he’s not quite ready to face the world with it), and instead chooses to just ignore it, and concentrate on the important things in life, for example what he’s going to eat tonight, because, if he remembers correctly, he doesn’t have anything in his fridge anymore.

 

Just a few minutes later he’s arrived at his apartment complex, and quickly runs up the stairs to his floor, already fishing out the keys from his jacket. Reaching his door, he quickly unlocks the door and closes it before any of his neighbours can see Bubbles, even though he can’t spot anyone outside. He’s just making sure, alright?

 

“Hey buddy,” Ashton greets Bubbles, and the dog, who had previously been laying on the floor, happily jumps up and down his legs. She must’ve been waiting for him to come home. Dropping his jacket on the floor and pulling off his shoes at the door, he walks to the kitchen, searching for some food for him and Bubbles. To his surprise, there’s some leftover pizza from yesterday, and half a can of dog food for the puppy.

 

When Ashton’s sitting down on his kitchen counter and eating his pizza, he watches as Bubbles devours her food, and suddenly the thought of having to give her up dawns on him. He won’t be able to keep her. He still doesn’t have a new owner. He needs to find a new owner, and it needs to be soon, because otherwise his landlord will pay him a visit and he’ll see the dog and then Ashton will get thrown out of his apartment. He doesn’t really feel like living on the streets, though, so the dog has to go.

 

But where to?

 

Bubbles has finished her food and is now watching Ashton’s pizza with those big puppy eyes, and with a sigh, Ashton takes a last bite and lets her have the rest. She eagerly eats the food, and really, Ashton’s grown too attached. It’s not even his dog.

 

And the way that she watches him, head tilted slightly, he suddenly remembers seeing something similar to this, somewhere, not too long ago.

 

And then the perfect person comes to Ashton’s mind.

 

* * *

 

It happens all of a sudden, and to say that Ashton hadn’t been expecting it would be an understatement.

 

He’s at work, and Michael is late (as usual), when the other boy suddenly bursts into the coffee shop, frantically looking around until his eyes settle on Ashton, who’s stopped reading his book and is looking back at Michael. And with the biggest grin ever, Michael walks over to him, behind the counter, and stops in front of him.

 

“What-“

 

“You are the greatest person alive,” Michael interrupts him, and without saying anything else, just grabs Ashton’s face, leans down, and. Kisses him. Michael is kissing him.

 

After the initial shock, Ashton kisses back, hands curling at the back of Michael’s neck, slightly twisting Michael’s hair. Michael’s lips are incredibly soft, and Ashton finds himself sighing into the kiss. It only lasts a few seconds, but Ashton enjoys it more than every other kiss he’s ever had. He’d closed his eyes the instant Michael had kissed him, and when Michael leans back, they open again.

 

“Wha-,” he starts again, but Michael interrupts him once again.

 

“I can’t believe you actually gave Calum your dog,” Michael says, grinning from ear to ear. “Why did you do it? Why now?”

 

Ah. So that’s what this is about. “Well, basically my landlord hasn’t paid me a visit in a rather long time and I’d rather not have him walk in on me talking to my dog or something, so last night I decided Bubbles had to go, and well,” he shrugs, “Calum gave me his number a while ago, and something about Bubbles just really reminded me of Calum, so I texted him, and here we are, I guess!”

 

“Oh my god, this is so great, I’m-,” Michael says, “How did you know Calum wanted a dog?”

 

Shrugging, Ashton replies “Well, your conversations aren’t exactly quiet, y’know, so anyone with decent ears could’ve picked up on it, if I’m being honest.” Before he can stop himself, he says “But why did you kiss me?”

 

Michael seems to have a lump in his throat, and lets go of Ashton. “I…” He takes a step back. “I don’t know, actually. I – this was a mistake. I… I need to go.” There isn’t any time for Ashton to reach out to Michael and stop him, and the other boy is out of the door in what seems like milliseconds.

 

It’s like Ashton’s mood had done a 180° turn, because suddenly, all he can feel is emptiness. He’s glad that nobody is in the shop right now, not even Luke, so he sits down behind the counter so that he can’t be seen from the front, and just takes a deep breath. He’s alright. He’s fine. He’s good. He’s peachy. Michael immediately running away after kissing him doesn’t make him feel like complete trash. It doesn’t. It doesn’t make him question what he did wrong. Not at all. It sure doesn’t make his insecurities creep up from where he’s hidden them, somewhere deep down, and the voices in his head most definitely don’t tell him right now that he’s a failure.

 

When the tears start streaming down his face, he knows he needs to stop lying to himself.

 

* * *

  

The pain starts out as a dull ache in his heart when Michael doesn’t show up to work the next day, and continues to grow out into his whole body when Michael doesn’t show up for the rest of the week, and it has filled him out completely by the time the incident had happened almost a week ago and Michael still hadn’t returned to work.

 

Ashton’s finally stopped denying to himself that he doesn’t feel anything for Michael, because when he thinks back to how hard it had hit him when Michael rejected him it’s clear as day.

 

He’s currently in his apartment, preparing to go to bed after another hectic day at work, and suddenly it dawns on him how quiet the apartment had become since Bubbles left. He can no longer hear the sound of little paws tapping on the floor, or her scratching against his door in the night when she’d wanted him to let her into the bedroom and into bed with her. The sound of her tiny barks can’t be heard anymore, and Ashton realises just how much he misses her. And it’s stupid, because he had told himself over and over again that he shouldn’t get attached to the damn dog, and really, he had it coming all along. At least Bubbles isn’t too far away, and Calum had promised Ashton that he could always just come around and hang with her.

 

When the doorbell rings, he gets up from the couch, confused. He hadn’t been expecting anyone. Opening the door, he’s greeted by the sight of Michael, who’d clearly been crying previously.

 

“Are those Iron Man pyjamas?” Michael asks, pointing to Ashton’s pants. Looking down, Ashton flushes bright red.

 

“Shut up, I like them,” Ashton says, but his cheeks still feel hot. “What are you doing here?” he asks, changing the topic.

 

Michael looks down to the ground, all happiness gone from his face. When he looks back up, he replies “I… I don’t know where to start, to be honest. First of all, me leaving you the other day was a complete dick move and I wish I hadn’t done that.” Ashton can’t help but snort slightly at Michael’s choice of words. “I didn’t – the kiss certainly wasn’t  a mistake, I just – fuck,” he runs a hand through his hair, clearly upset, “I didn’t really know what I was doing, and when you asked me why I kissed you, I think – I think something just snapped in my head, and I… well, I basically freaked out,” he continues, letting out a sad laugh, “The thing is, I actually like you a whole lot, and when you gave your dog to Calum, I think that – that the feelings I’d been trying to bury underneath the ground, that they just resurfaced, and admittedly, I don’t think it was the right moment to kiss you, but fuck – if you’d let me, I’d do it again and again.”

 

Ashton desperately tries to find words to somehow sum up the way he’s feeling right now, but he just can’t seem to do it. “I – I – fuck, Michael,” he says, swallowing. “I’m going to be completely honest with you, yes it was a dick move, and I don’t think you can imagine just how much that hurt, you – you just leaving me in the shop, after you’d fucking kissed me, I mean who does that?!” He can feel the tears pricking at his eyes, but he wills them away. “I’ve been developing feelings for you, and I, too, have tried to conceal them, and I don’t know if it worked but it’s been breaking me on the inside, and I honestly didn’t know how much longer I’d have coped with it, but then you kissed me, and fuck, I was so, so happy. And then you just – you just left me, and I felt so bad, because I kept thinking about what I’d done wrong, and why you’d kissed me in the first place if you were just going to regret it. I was just confused and hurt, alright?”

 

Michael nods. “Are you gonna forgive me?”

 

Sighing, Ashton hugs him, just because he’s looking so lost at the moment, and maybe because he’d missed the physical contact, too. “It might take a little while, but yeah. I think I will. I think I just need a bit more time to process everything, if you’re willing to wait.”

 

“Yeah, yeah, of course I will,” Michael answers, and kisses Ashton’s cheek. Ashton just hugs him closer, burying his face in Michael’s shoulder, because no, he’s too short to rest his chin on Michael’s shoulder, so he’ll settle for this instead. It’s good, too.

 

Everything is good. Everything will be okay.

 

* * *

 

Of course Ashton forgives Michael. Of course he does.

 

After those first awkward couple of weeks in which Ashton kind of avoided Michael, he gets closer to him again, and soon after it’s like nothing bad had ever happened. A bit later, Ashton tells Michael that he’s ready to take things further, and that he’s forgiven him, and Michael’s smile in that moment could light up the entire planet.

 

They start to go out together, and go on dates, and it’s so, so good. Their first date is a classic movie night, which they have at Ashton’s flat, and afterwards they cuddle, and really, it’s overwhelming. They’re talking about their feelings more often now, and it’s clearly better than before. Everyone’s better.

 

Ashton still sees Bubbles regularly, and the small puppy seems to only get happier each time he comes to visit Michael and Calum’s flat. He’s even invited Luke over a couple of times, and Calum and him had immediately hit it off, and after Luke had slapped Michael upon the head and scolded him for making Ashton cry, they’d gotten along well, too.

 

Things are good. They really are.

 

* * *

 

**Author's Note:**

> find me on tumblr @starrymikey :-)


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